Doug Pederson's Advice to Calvin Ridley: 'Just Be Calvin'

After an embarrassing 37-17 home loss to the Houston Texans in Week 3, the Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to get their offense back on track.

Perhaps the biggest part of that? Getting Calvin Ridley back on track first.

After an eight-catch, 101-yard, one-touchdown performance vs. the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1, Ridley's production has cooled off considerably. Ridley dominated the Colts in Week 1, showing off little rust as he became the Jaguars' clear No. 1 receiver.

Week 2 was a bit different. Against a much better and more physical Kansas City Chiefs secondary, Ridley dropped two passes, catching just two of eight targets for 32 yards.

Then Week 3 happened. On the Jaguars' first possession of the game, Jacksonville got the perfect matchup. Ridley was matched up with inside linebacker Blake Cashman, beating him downfield and drawing an accurate strike from Trevor Lawrence that should have resulted in a touchdown.

Instead, Ridley dropped the pass, letting the air out of EverBank Stadium and setting up an eventual missed field goal.

"I thought that first drive, we executed the plan perfectly. We had the missed touchdown catch there, Calvin. He’ll make that play nine out of ten times," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday.

"Then, we missed the field goal. So, it’s not necessarily what they did to us, it’s what we did to ourselves."

Ridley has been great this year, but dropping a throw like this on a what would be a TD is just such a gutpunch. https://t.co/4QrKfixu4I pic.twitter.com/fORkG8PG3l
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 25, 2023

The last two weeks have seen Ridley catch just five of his 15 targets for 72 yards, giving him a 33.3% catch rate and 4.8 yards per target in that span. As a result of four drops in two weeks, Ridley now leads all NFL receivers with 10 targets or more in drops, per Pro Football Focus, and is No. 5 in drop rate (23.5%).

But Pederson isn't concerned with the two-week slump. Pederson and the Jaguars know that Ridley has to be a focal point of the offense. The confidence in him can't waver, even if the production has slipped in recent weeks.

"I grabbed him coming off the field and I reiterated to him to take a deep breath. Stay locked in, stay engaged. I told him he was a big part of our system and the offense and he’s going to have a lot of success," Pederson said.

"I just wanted to reiterate that confidence in him and Trevor [Lawrence] does a great job of that too, of getting with those guys."

For Ridley, mistakes in his first three games in nearly two years likely should have been expected. Yes, he looked terrific in training camp and the preseason, but maybe this set the bar for early expectations too high, both outside and inside the building.

"Calvin wants to do so well, so good, so much. He wants to prove, but he doesn’t have to. He’s a good player and he doesn’t have to do all that," Pederson said.

"Just be Calvin. Those are the things that we’re just trying to get him to do, just relax, focus on his job and the plays that have his number attached to them.”